102 THE HORSE 



you have used in bitting him tied to one fore foot 

 before the fetlock, passed over the girth, and back 

 into the cart. With this, if the colt tries to kick 

 or run away, you have the means of stopping him 

 at once by pulling up his foot and placing him 

 upon three legs ; it has this additional advantage 

 that, while it greatly disconcerts him and robs 

 him of his self-confidence, it does not hurt him 

 nor rouse his resentment. 



I have known horse-breakers to object to it on 

 the plea that it may throw the colt down, but I 

 have used it many years and have never known 

 this to occur or any other injury to result from 

 its use. The controller (described in a previous 

 chapter) affords an equally certain means of con- 

 trol and on some specially intractable colts it may 

 be found useful. But in ordinary cases, where 

 the foot-line is merely a safeguard and is not for 

 the correction of any confirmed vice, it makes a 

 little less rigging to put on the colt and is fully 

 as satisfactory to use. 



A great many colts are spoiled by the breaker 

 being in too great a hurry to get them into a 

 four-wheeled vehicle. The colt should be used 

 a long time in the breaking-cart and got thor- 

 oughly handy before harnessing to a buggy ; then 

 there is little danger in it. 



As a general rule, one is liable to be a little 



